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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23299021">my dearest moments are with you</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleboxes/pseuds/nonbinarywithaknife'>nonbinarywithaknife (littleboxes)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>me sobbing about critical role [121]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Critical Role (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Victorian, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Language of Flowers, Widobrave Week 2020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 12:13:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,070</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23299021</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleboxes/pseuds/nonbinarywithaknife</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em>widobrave week day 3: flowers</em>
</p><p>in which veth conducts some intricate rituals.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Nott &amp; Caleb Widogast, Nott/Caleb Widogast, Veth Brenatto &amp; Caleb Widogast, Veth Brenatto &amp; Yeza Brenatto, Veth Brenatto/Caleb Widogast, Veth Brenatto/Yeza Brenatto, Veth Brenatto/Yeza Brenatto/Caleb Widogast</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>me sobbing about critical role [121]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1266866</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>49</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>my dearest moments are with you</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23298229">my dearest moments are with you (illustrations)</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleboxes/pseuds/nonbinarywithaknife">nonbinarywithaknife (littleboxes)</a>.
        </li>

    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>veth wakes with the dawn, as she does every day, with an excited tremble in her heart. she braids her hair and dresses quickly, and sets out the ink and paper so she’ll remember to write yeza before the day ends- she always gets so wrapped up in the lab that if she doesn’t, she’s practically guaranteed to forget.</p><p>she smooths down her skirt and glances at the clock on her wall- seven oh-one, and she steps out onto her porch.</p><p>and just as he does every day at exactly seven oh-two, one professor caleb widogast strolls- or, more accurately, hurriedly jogs in what he no doubt is attempting to make seem a put-together manner- past her porch. and just as he does every day, he slows down as he approaches her home. </p><p>“good morning, miss brenatto,” he says, only a little bit breathless, chest heaving slightly but with a sincere smile on his face.</p><p>his arms are filled with, somehow, <em>more</em> loose pamphlets and manuscripts than usual, and veth takes a second to admire the way his hair has come loose from his ponytail.</p><p>“mr widogast. you seem quite over-burdened today- is there some sort of lecture at the university i’m missing?”</p><p>mr widogast- caleb, really, they’ve known each other for long enough, but even in her thoughts the name feels almost- too intimate. </p><p>he smiles sheepishly. “ah, no. one of my students expressed interest about the background of a certain linguist i covered last week, and i may have gotten… over-enthusiastic, in my background reading suggestions. not to mention, frumpkin was <em>clingy</em> this morning, and i was nearly late. frankly, i don’t know how i’ll ever get there in time now.”</p><p>veth doesn’t bother hiding her laugh. </p><p>“oh no, however will your students fare without their professor! they’ll surely flounder without your steady guidance there at every step, such an absence they’ve never felt!”</p><p>he puffs up in false affront. “miss brenatto, you couldn’t possibly be implying that i’ve ever been late to one of my classes! i take my job as a model for our future generations <em>quite</em> seriously!”</p><p>veth mirrors his smile, but keeps her voice as steady as she can. “oh, indeed. i can swear you’ve never been late- in fact, save for today, i could set my clock by your appearances at my door every morning.”</p><p>caleb pulls his pocket watch from a rumpled blazer pocket and sighs. “i’m afraid my streak has been broken. but i’m glad to have broken it with such company as good as yours, miss brenatto.”</p><p>veth can’t help a blush at the sincerity in his voice. she thinks of yeza’s last message, after she’d expressed… <em>quite</em> a bit of frustration with her current endeavor. </p><p>
  <em>well, if he isn’t getting the message, use something you know he’ll understand. something so obvious there’s literally no other way to interpret it. he’s a professor of languages, right? what better language than one every self respecting member of nobility knows?</em>
</p><p>of course, it had been easier to commit to a course of action than tracking down all of the different varieties of flower she’d needed, and then the <em>painstaking </em>task of arranging them <em>just so</em>. not since she and yeza had courted had she put such an effort into an arrangement. mostly because the flowers were a pain in the ass to keep fresh. </p><p>pink and yellow roses, for friendship and warm affection. a purple violet in the middle, on the recommendation of yeza, given that <em>my thoughts are occupied with love for you is a pretty unambiguous statement, dear, let alone set in-center</em>. all of them carefully arranged within a basket she’d woven herself, with the ribbon tied such that it was clear that the sentiment was intended toward the receiver. </p><p>she pushes the memory away, and tries not to be anxious about the bouquet sitting in her kitchen cabinet. after all, it is hardly guaranteed he’ll come in.</p><p>“mr widogast, it appears that both of us are destined to arrive later than anticipated to the university this morning. i haven’t yet finished my tea- would you treat me to your delightful companionship?”</p><p>veth thinks about the rum sitting in her cabinet just one over from the basket, and decides it will go nicely with her tea. she could use the courage.</p><p>he blinks in surprise at her offer- or more likely, her forwardness, but then smiles. “i would love to, miss brenatto.”</p><p>she can’t stop a smile in return, and steps aside to allow him inside. </p><p>she tries not to be anxious about what he thinks of her home. it’s modest but well kept- her front hall, at least. her bedroom and lab are another story, but they’ll hardly be brewing together this morning, and her kitchen is perfectly suitable.</p><p>“the kitchen is right this way, you can set your papers on the table, there, if you like.”</p><p>he does, trying in vain to bring some semblance of order to them as he does so, and she feels warmth rise in her chest. </p><p>they have shared their early morning chats on the walk to the university together for months now, and she couldn’t deny she was afraid that she was about to ruin one of her closest friendships. she thought of all the letters she’d written to her husband- at first full of shame and guilt for betraying his trust, and then, after his easy acceptance- <em>who am i to deny my wife something that makes her happy? although i </em>definitely<em> want to meet him once you get together</em>- frankly sickeningly sweet ramblings. </p><p>she took a deep breath, and then opened the kitchen door. “if you’ll grab a seat, let me just grab some tea.”</p><p>he did, and she opened the cupboard with shaking hands. her basket sat there, colorful and subtly fragrant as it had been when she’d composed it earlier. she grabbed it, and turned around. </p><p>she marched over to caleb, and outstretched her arm. said nothing, but watched his face intently. shock, widening eyes, and something she couldn’t name.</p><p>agonizing seconds ticked by, and then he reached out and took it from her. clasped the purple violet to his breast, above his heart, and veth’s breath caught.</p><p>“miss brenatto- veth. may i have the honor of kissing you?”</p><p>she let out a breathless laugh, and leaned forward. she’d have to arrange for yeza to come visit sooner.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i got to indulge my interest in victorian floriography which was fun. some facts that are semi relevant:<br/>- pinning the flowers/corsage/bouquet you receive on certain parts of your clothing indicates a response- on the chest means friendship, over the heart is a declaration of reciprocated love<br/>- the vessel the flowers are given in also generally has meanings, it's meant to be as intricate as possible, sometimes even outdoing the flowers. i didn't find a "handmade basket" meaning, but i think it's pretty self explanatory. <em>you are worth this effort</em> or something to that effect<br/>-  the way the ribbon is tied does actually indicate who/where the message is meant for, which i think is cool.<br/>- flower meanings are right in the fic<br/>- placement is huge! i combined some stuff but for this fic, putting a flower in the middle is basically like, THIS IS MY WHOLE POINT PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION TO THIS ONE</p></blockquote><div class="children module" id="children">
  <b class="heading">Works inspired by this one:</b>
  <ul>
    <li>
        <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23298229">my dearest moments are with you (illustrations)</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleboxes/pseuds/nonbinarywithaknife">nonbinarywithaknife (littleboxes)</a>
    </li>
  </ul>
</div></div></div>
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